Company Fighting $60 Million Lawsuit

Related Cases Settled

But the settlements haven't ended Sikorsky's legal problems. The Stratford-based helicopter manufacturer is still fighting a $60 million suit brought by the small Finnish company that owned and operated the commuter helicopter.

In a federal lawsuit filed in New York last December, Helsinki-based Copterline Oy alleged that a Sikorsky division provided a defective part that led to the crash of Copterline's Sikorsky S-76C+ aircraft on Aug. 10, 2005. Shortly after departing from Tallinn, Estonia, for Helsinki, the aircraft plunged 1,400 feet and sank to the sea floor. There were no survivors.

Copterline alleged in the suit that Orange-based Helicopter Support Inc., the Sikorsky division, provided a main rotor servo actuator that failed in flight, causing a chain of events that rendered the helicopter ``immediately and catastrophically unflyable.'' The actuator controls the direction of the helicopter's flight.

In findings released about two weeks ago, Estonian accident investigators confirmed that a malfunction of the main rotor forward actuator created an emergency that led to the fatal crash. U.S. and Finnish authorities also helped with the investigation.

Sikorsky, a division of Hartford-based United Technologies Corp., has denied liability and is trying to move the case into federal court in Connecticut. A federal judge in New York is considering the request. No trial date has been set.

A Sikorsky spokesman, Paul Jackson, declined to comment Friday on the Copterline suit or the related settlements. Details of the settlements were not released.

Copterline said it was forced to discontinue its scheduled passenger service between Helsinki and Tallinn because of the crash and is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for ``gross negligence, amounting to willful, reckless and malicious conduct,'' plus litigation costs.

Lawsuits filed by relatives of the two Copterline pilots and one passenger killed in the crash also remain active against Sikorsky and its suppliers. Of the 14 victims, eight were Finns, four were Estonians and two were Americans, accident investigators said.